History Main / CrusadingWidower

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16660854080.21125600 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.
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[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arthur_and_mera_9.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Death did them part. Now the plot can start.]]
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->''"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the ''true'' emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."''
-->-- '''Maximus''', ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''

What a glorious day! Officer Bob has just [[{{Retirony}} retired]], and can spend time with his [[TooHappyToLive happy and completely innocent family!]] Just in time too, [[MarriedToTheJob his job was driving a wedge]] between him and his family. Yep, [[TemptingFate nothing could possibly go wrong!]]

In what is possibly the mother of {{Dark And Troubled Past}}s, Officer Bob will find that his spouse, [[FamilyExtermination and/or his children have been killed]]. The cause behind the killing varies, but it is ''always'' connected to a person or group of persons: the trope earns the "crusading" part of its name from the surviving family member's [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge ensuing quest to hunt down and either apprehend or kill the people responsible]], regardless of how tangentially they are connected to the crime. The lost family member [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible doesn't need to specifically be a spouse]]: the character might have no kids at all and not even be married, but the death of their girlfriend/boyfriend or fiancé(e) will nevertheless motivate them to seek justice or vengeance. In rare cases, the family will die in a horrible but blameless accident. In those cases, he will either [[SurvivorsGuilt blame himself for their deaths]] or [[RageAgainstTheHeavens blame God]].

This trope is often used when the author wants to go for broke and create a character with "nothing and no one to live for". After all, the combination of a burning drive for {{revenge}} and a [[TheUnfettered lack of emotional attachments holding him back]] makes for a [[NoNonsenseNemesis singularly terrifying individual]]: the loss of a loved one happens to be a [[TheLostLenore great personal motivator]], and often comes with SurvivorsGuilt.

[[PayEvilUntoEvil For obvious reasons]], this character is usually on the low end of the [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Idealism/Cynicism scale]], tending towards AntiHero, AntiVillain, or villain. Very, ''very'' rarely will the Crusading Widower be TheHero. Also, while this trope ''can'' happen to women, [[AlwaysMale it happens much more often to men]].

Sometimes the kids actually survive, and need [[{{Protectorate}} to be protected]]... that doesn't necessarily mean that they will in any way [[MoralityChain stop their parent]] from [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge making messes of a whole mess of people]]. There's also the possibility that the child is someone the parent will try to [[TykeBomb mold into a weapon of vengeance,]] either by [[SideKick working with them]] or by [[TakeUpMySword having the child carry on in their stead]]. Of course, he might abandon the child to be raised by someone else entirely, or do the revenging in secret. He may also [[RefusalOfTheCall try to drown his sorrows at first]], only to be "rescued" by a friend who will motivate him with an offer to somehow [[TheAtoner atone]] for his mistake, or catch the culprits. If it's a fantasy or sci-fi setting, a third goal may present itself: [[{{Necromantic}} bringing them back to life.]] This is [[CameBackWrong rarely a good thing]]: his loved ones will probably beg him not to, or he will choose not to resurrect them as part of a FriendOrIdolDecision.

TheyWereHoldingYouBack and DisposableWoman are related tropes, and VengefulWidow is the ([[DoubleStandard usually evil]]) DistaffCounterpart.

'''No Zero-Context Examples, please.'''

----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}:'' Guts, whose TrueCompanions were slaughtered by demons and his LoveInterest sent insane during the Eclipse.
* Heito in ''Anime/DaimonsHate''. Poor guy had all of his former "friends" turn on him and kill his wife and daughter because he wouldn't join the plot to use the nanotechnology they developped for warring purposes. After barely surviving the ColdBloodedTorture that cost him his two arms, he suggested himself to TrainingFromHell under a MadScientist, developped PsychicPowers with the PowerOfHate, and learned to control mechanical arms through it. Before going on a crusade to murder all of his former "friends".
* Heroic example in ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', in that widower Kotetsu is inspired by his late wife to continue his work as a superhero, because he promised her that he would. This choice causes serious conflict with his daughter Kaede - who doesn't know what her father does - and later in the series [[spoiler: when Kotetsu's promise makes it even harder for him to face the prospect of giving up his heroics as 'Wild Tiger' due to the gradual loss of his powers.]]
* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'': [[spoiler: Tsutomu Tanaka is hell-bent on revenge against Isshinsai Ogata for murdering both his father-in-law martial arts master and his pregnant wife.]]
* Van from ''Anime/GunXSword''. His wife-to-be was killed by a man with a claw for a right hand, and the entire show is basically [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge him searching for this man so he can kill him in return]].
** Ray had his wife killed by the same man, though he serves as a darker example than Van, as his hunt for revenge causes him to commit more morally dubious acts and push everyone away, including his own brother [[spoiler: before it finally costs him his life.]]
* The Thunder Soldier [[spoiler: aka Kyros]] in ''Manga/OnePiece'' is one. His wife, Scarlett, the heiress to the Dressrosan throne was killed by one of Doflamingo's top men, as Doflamingo didn't want any of King Riku's blood messing his chances. Also he was one of the first toys ever of Sugar, which meant he couldn't save his wife from them. [[BestServedCold He will spend the next 10 years plotting vengeance against Doflamingo and his crew]], culminating in Operation SOP, one of the major events that become the crux of the downfall of the Donquixote Pirates, [[spoiler: and personally defeats Scarlett's killer during the Battle for Dressrosa.]]
* [[spoiler: Yuuichirou Minamoto]] was about to become this in ''Manga/PrivateActress'', as [[spoiler: his girlfriend Misaki was cruelly DrivenToSuicide]]. [[spoiler: But Misaki's killer, Satoka, turned out to be ''very'' savvy... and Yuuichirou ends dying instead.]]
* Kureo Mado from ''Manga/TokyoGhoul''. His wife was one of the ''many'' victims of the [[HeroKiller One-Eyed]] [[BigBad Owl]], and he has devoted the last decade of his life to massing an armory of Quinque weapons. Though a devoted single-father, he does encourage Akira to follow in his footsteps and become a Ghoul Investigator. After his death, she considers continuing both his Quinque Research and quest for revenge against the Owl important.
* [[spoiler: Stefan Levin]] from ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' is as close to this trope as sports manga allow. [[spoiler: He promised his girlfriend Karin that he'd be the best soccer player in the world... ''as she lay dying'' in an hospital bed. And after she died, he decided to fulfill the promise '''[[LoveMakesYouCrazy at all costs]]'''.]] [[spoiler: But unlike many examples, Levin manages to work through his issues and get better.]]
* [[spoiler: Yoriichi Tsugikuni]] in ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba''. [[spoiler: After his wife, Uta, and their unborn child were killed by a demon, he dedicated his life to becoming a Demon Slayer. His skills were so great that he singlehandedly caused the Demon Slayer Corps to put a hierarchy system in place, and managed to nearly kill [[BigBad Muzan Kibutsuji]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Big Daddy from ''ComicBook/KickAss'':
** The ''[[Film/KickAss film version]]'' trains his daughter to get revenge on the drug lord who sent him to prison and left his depressed wife to OD on drugs. [[spoiler: In contrast to the comic, the story appears to be real.]]
** The comic version trains his daughter to get revenge on the drug lord who murdered his wife. [[spoiler:It's a lie: she's really alive and he made the whole thing up to brainwash his daughter into becoming a vengeful superhero out of boredom with his pathetic life]].
* ComicBook/ThePunisher, where the protagonist seeks vengeance then effects genocide on the American criminal element for the murder of his family during a botched mob hit.
** In the "Widowmaker" arc of ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'', several wives of high-level mafioso Frank Castle killed come together to take vengeance on him. Before Frank can come up against the potentially morally interesting decision of how to deal with them, they are interrupted by another Mafia widow. This widow is thankful to Frank for killing her husband, who she regarded as a diabolically vile monster, and has nothing but contempt for the other widows who cruelly abused her. Thus Frank is freed of any blame or responsibility.
* ''[[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]'' foe ComicBook/BlackAdam. He's an interesting variation, because he was originally (in ancient Egypt) a hero, but then the power went to his head and he had a FaceHeelTurn. After several thousand years of being a villain, he had a HeelFaceTurn... sorta, several thousand years of being a villain apparently twists your understanding of "heroism" a bit. Still, he was at least ''trying'', a lot of which was for the sake of his new wife, whom he'd shared his powers with and who was genuinely a good person. And then she got killed. Adam didn't take it well.
* ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' has The Saint of Killers while he was alive. [[spoiler:He finally gets his vengeance in the final book, two hundred-odd years after the fact.]]
* Kal-El in ''ComicBook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations'', after his first wife Lois Lane was killed by the Ultra-Humanite posing as Lex Luthor. He also loses his daughter Kara to his son Joel, who dies shortly afterward on the same day.
* In the second ''ComicBook/AtariForce'' series, Martin Champion becomes a widower when his wife Lydia died giving birth to their son Christopher, and spends much of that series going after her real killer, the Dark Destroyer.
* In ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance'', Jon's transformation to soldier-of-fortune happens when his wife and children are murdered by {{Evil Poacher}}s. His first act is go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the poachers, although he does not catch up to their real boss until years later.
* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures'': The last regular story arc introduced a wolf-man called Mokoshan, and one of the major characters, Ninjara, left the cast to join him and his tribe. Eventually the latter received her own, short-lived spin-off (unfinished due to the real life issues of the artist at time). It started with Mokoshan getting murdered, prompting Ninjara to seek revenge against the killers while also trying to take care of her and Mokoshan's daughter.
* ''ComicBook/WeStandOnGuard'': Dunn, a member of the Two-Fours freedom fighter group, lost his husband in the Battle of Brunswick.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Paula von Gunther at first appeared to be a loyal Nazi spy, but after the reveal that the Nazis had murdered her husband and kidnapped her daughter to force her to comply and Diana saved her daughter Paula quickly switched to dedicating herself to aiding the Allies and Wonder Woman against the Nazis. So she went from a cruel cold VengefulWidow who took out her anger on everyone she could while being forced to work for her husband's killers, to a heroic woman fighting those who had killed him.
* ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'': Elscol saw her mother, sister, and husband all killed by the Empire, and she sets up LaResistance to fight back. She insists that the man responsible goes to the courts instead of letting her companion kill him, but this doesn't put her at peace. When she leaves her world and joins Rogue Squadron, taking a suboordinate role chafes at her, and she tends to be reckless and disregard orders. Her commander soon sees this isn't working and lets her leave the squadron to form and lead resistance cells again.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Femforce}}'', Colt became a superheroine after her husband (a spy) was murdered and she felt the organisation she and he worked for did not do enough to catch the killer. She quit and used her skills to become a vigilante.
* ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}'' gives us a pair of examples: [[WellIntentionedExtremist Dengo]], a man who wants to avenge the death of his young son against the royal family whose [[TheEmpire brutal reign]] indirectly caused it - and, later, [[RoyallyScrewedUp Prince]] [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Robot IV]], who chases after Dengo with a vengeance after [[{{Irony}} Dengo kills his wife and kidnaps his son]].
* In ''ComicBook/JudgeColt'', one of the reasons Mark Colt became a CircuitJudge is because he is looking for members of the gang that killed his wife during a bank robbery 10 years earlier. He managed to bring one of them to justice before the series ended.
* ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'s war against the Amazons is in part motivated by ComicBook/WonderWoman killing his wife ComicBook/{{Mera}} before the story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/DeadOfNight'', this is how [[Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName Finas]] met Casimiro. His wife and daughter were killed in the night by vampires, leading to him joining Casimiro as a full-time vampire hunter.
* A gender flipped version exist in the WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}} fanfic [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/41061552 Can You Fix This?]] Agustín is murdered, making Julieta become this trope.
* In the lost ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' webcomic ''Future of Despair'', [[spoiler: Henry]] becomes this after [[spoiler: his wife Panne is accidentally killed.]] Not everyone liked that.
* Sean Cassidy in ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' is a surprisingly cheerful, happy go lucky variant, a CoolTeacher and a ReasonableAuthorityFigure. However, it is stated that he's had over a decade to grieve, whatever he did with his CompellingVoice during his RoaringRampageOfRevenge still occasionally gives Nick Fury nightmares and he's got a taste for {{Revenge}}, one that he does his bet to keep a lid on. Also [[BewareTheNiceOnes you]] ''really'' [[BewareTheNiceOnes don't want to cross him]].
* FanFic/TheMansionverse's version of Melanie Ravenswood rose up against the Phantom when she learnt he was the murderer of her fiancé, though in practice there is not much she can ''do'' against him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* Mr. Incredible in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' develops this, despite it not actually being the case. Regardless, he still believes that his family is dead and for a little while, he definitely becomes the angry, vengeful, miserable Crusading Widower.
* Manfred ("Manny") the mammoth from WesternAnimation/IceAge. The death of his mate and child at the hands of human hunters leaves him grumpy and miserable at the beginning of the film, and it's possible that he was heading north to commit suicide since life wasn't worth living without them. The tragic nature of his [[DarkAndTroubledPast backstory]] is finally revealed when the ragtag misfit "herd" that he's found stumble across a series of cave paintings that bring it to light. Notably, the VillainProtagonist, Diego, is highly moved by seeing this, especially since this moment causes him to forgive his murders because of the baby he is protecting - from Diego himself.
* ComicBook/TheKingpin in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' was a [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes villainous example]]. After his wife and son were killed in a car crash, he became desperate to obtain ReplacementGoldfish in the form of their AlternateUniverse equivalents, and built a dimensional portal under Brooklyn [[IgnoredExpert despite his scientists' warnings that it could destroy New York.]] He also blamed ComicBook/SpiderMan for their deaths since them walking in on one of their fights caused them to leave in the first place, and [[HeroKiller kills him with his bare hands in a fit of rage]] when he tries to explain to him that his plan won't work.
* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': Sgt. Calhoun being WidowedAtTheWedding is part of her DarkAndTroubledPast to drive her to kill all Cy-bugs.
* ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta'': Glenn Arias, the main antagonist of this movie, was just an arms dealer, albeit a powerful one, until a certain government dropped a bomb on his wedding, killing his wife and almost all his friends and family, turning him into a terrorist out for revenge.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Film/JamesBond goes on a rampage in frantic search for Ernst Stavro Blofeld at the beginning of ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''. His newlywed wife Tracy was murdered by Blofeld and his henchwoman Irma Bunt in a [[GanglandDriveBy drive-by]] right at the end of the previous film, ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', though Tracy is not mentioned in ''Diamonds are Forever'' at all, and terminating Blofeld is also Bond's assignment at that moment.
* Damon / Big Daddy in ''Film/KickAss''. He actually trains his daughter to help him seek revenge.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek''
** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'': Khan blamed Kirk for the death of his wife while his people were marooned. He expressed his bitterness enough to make it an overshadowing motivation. Despite his loathing for Kirk and all of Starfleet, he wears a Starfleet badge around his neck - because Marla [=McGivers=] was a former Starfleet officer.
** ''Film/StarTrekGenerations''. Dr. Tolian Soran's family was killed during the Borg assimilation of El-Auria. He spends the movie trying to get into the Nexus so he can be with them again, even though doing so requires destroying a star and killing hundreds of millions of sentient aliens.
** ''Film/StarTrek2009'': Nero, who lost his family and planet in the old timeline, and is out for revenge in the [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble new/different/whatever]] one.
* In ''Film/TheSuppressor'', Blake Bradley attacks criminals as a means of lashing out against the addicts who killed his wife. When Max Bentley, AKA "Vince the Prince", had seen Blake defending a prostitute, he exploited Blake's rage to get rid of his competitors.
* This is the basis of ''Film/KillBill'', demonstrating that women get a shot at nihilistic murderous despair at least once in a while.
* In the film ''Film/PatriotGames'', while they're not killed, the near-fatal attack on his wife and daughter spurs Jack Ryan to rejoin the CIA in order to find the people responsible.
* Clyde from ''Film/LawAbidingCitizen'' lost his wife and daughter to an assault [[PlotTriggeringDeath early on]] and spends the rest of the movie going after the killers.
* Creator/JodieFoster's character from ''Film/TheBraveOne'' becomes a vigilante after her fiance is killed.
* In ''Film/HarryBrown'', the title character is specifically avenging the death of his friend, but the death of his sick wife early in the film frees him up to act, as he has nothing left to lose.
* Subverted in ''Film/RollingThunder''. While Major Ranes' wife and son are both murdered by the gang, he says to his friend Johnny he found the men who killed his son. While he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Rane's wife started a relationship with another man, and he seems to feel she's already dead to him prior to her actual death.
* The Mariachi becomes this in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInMexico'' following the murder of Carolina and their daughter by Marquez.
* Riggs in ''Film/LethalWeapon'' is reasonably heroic, but he's also suicidal and is considered crazy by everyone who knows him. He slowly becomes less unhinged as he opens up to his partner Murtagh.
* Drax the Destroyer from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' plots revenge against Ronan for killing his wife and daughter. [[spoiler:After Drax helps the other Guardians defeat Ronan, he declares Thanos his next target, since Thanos assigned Ronan with killing Drax's family.]]
* In ''Film/BatmanBegins'', Henri Ducard claims the death of his wife is part of what led him to want to punish criminals with death and vengeance.
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Rachel Dawes's death serves as the catalyst for Harvey Dent to snap and get revenge on the Gotham police who didn't manage to save her, turning him into the villain Two-Face.
* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': [[spoiler:After Erik loses his wife and daughter, he takes up Apocalypse's offer to get the ultimate revenge against a world which has been cruel to him, a world which he feels deserves to be destroyed.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Magneto''']]: They took everything away from me. Now, we'll take everything from them.
* In ''Film/FinalGirl'' the untimely death of his wife at the hands of a serial killer is what drives William to turn a young girl into a weapon against all of them.
* The titular ''Film/JohnDoeVigilante'' is revealed to be this at the end of his killing spree when his final victim turns out to be the man who raped and murdered his wife and daughter. The viewer then recalls that most of his previous victims have been abusers of women and children.
* Richard Kimble of ''Film/TheFugitive''. His efforts to find his wife's killer are just as much--if not moreso--about avenging her as they are about clearing his name.
* ''Film/{{Deewaar}}'': [[spoiler:Although technically not a widower as they didn't have time to get married, Vijay sets out for revenge after Anita is killed.]]
* ''Film/{{Peppermint}}'' is about Riley North, a wife who witnessed her husband and child get murdered in front of her during a driveby shooting. Even worse, she watched the men responsible get aquitted in a staged trial by a corrupt judge and attorneys on both sides. She decides to take the law in her own hands. And after years of training and planning, she returns to get revenge on everyone who wronged her and her family, including going after an entire drug cartel.
* ''Film/TheRevengers'': When John Benedict's wife and family are murdered by a raiding party of Indians and Comancheros, killing the raiding party's leader becomes his sole goal. He sells off his cattle herd, has his ranch boarded up, and recruits six convicts to accompany him on his RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* In ''Film/TripleThreat2019'', the villager Jaka pursues the band of mercenaries who slaughtered his village, including his wife.
* In the ''wuxia'' film ''Film/VengefulBeauty'', the titular beauty is an assassin who's after the warlord who killed her husband. And a PregnantBadass, to boot!
* In the BadFuture of ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', Mera goes on a crusade against ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} to avenge the murder of her love, Aquaman, by the EvilOverlord of Apokolips.
* ''Film/TheBravados'': After his wife is raped and murdered, Jim Douglass spends six months hunting the four outlaws he believes responsible. When they escape from jail before their execution, he pursues them all the way to Mexico.
* In ''Film/OneFootInHell'', after his wife dies, Mitch Barrett starts on a long term plan to take revenge on the town he blames for her death.
* ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'': Wenwu reformed the criminal Ten Rings to get revenge for his wife. [[spoiler: The entire plot is driven by his belief he can bring back his wife and the extremes he's willing to go to accomplish it.]]
* ''Film/TheHitmansBodyguard'': The dissident who was forced to watch his family be murdered by Dukhovich is one of the eyewitnesses who testifies against the dictator in his trial. Unfortunately the defense convinces the ICC to strike his entire testimony as hearsay. [[HollywoodLaw Which is not remotely how hearsay works.]]
* In the 1983 MadeForTVMovie adaptation of ''[[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1983 The Phantom of the Opera]]'', the titular character is a disfigured former opera conductor whose wife was a singer DrivenToSuicide by scathing reviews of her performance. He is out for revenge against the critics who mocked her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheCemeteriesOfAmalo'': The first mystery in ''The Grief of the Stones'' involves an aristocrat who rightfully believes his wife of fifty years and only source of happiness has been murdered and passionately requests official action to avenge her. [[spoiler:After the killer's trial and conviction, he commits suicide due to feeling he has nothing left to live for.]]
* Michael Edwards in ''Literature/RedStormRising'' intervenes [[spoiler:to stop the rape of Vigdis Augustdotir]] in part because of the brutal murder of his fiancee when he was attending the US Air Force Academy.
* Lucas Trask in Creator/HBeamPiper's ''Space Viking'' trades in his family estates for a starship to chase after his wife's killer. He then continues to fund his crusade by a) nuking and looting cities, and b) offering cities the chance to pay him not to nuke them, and sometimes to nuke and loot someone else. [[spoiler:As he begins to recover from the trauma, he begins working on c) trade and d) lighting the blue touch paper on what might become [[TheFederation a new Federation]].]]
* Canoc Caspro barely averts this in ''[[Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore Gifts]]'' by Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin. It's only his responsibilities as brantor that keep him from riding up to [[spoiler:Drummant]] alone to avenge his wife's murder.
* Neshi, the Tech Detective and lead character of ''Literature/TheWandering'', becomes this after the death of his wife Etarina, made all the more heartbreaking when he found out that she was pregnant.
* In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', Piotr Pierre Vorkosigan becomes this following the assassination of his wife, eldest son and youngest daughter by [[TheCaligula Mad Emperor Yuri]], with only his second son surviving. Piotr then kicks off a two-year civil war to depose Yuri, and replace him with his old friend and protege; he succeeds, and the war ends with Piotr helping to [[DeathOfAThousandCuts dismember Yuri]].
* OlderThanPrint: Kriemhild in the ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'' becomes a Crusading Widow after Hagen murders her husband Siegfried. To get her revenge, she marries Etzel and lurse the Burgundians to his court. The situation is not improved when Hagen also murders Kriemhild's and Etzel's son.
* Luke Skywalker in the later part of ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce''. As a Jedi, he's above simple revenge killing, but he is definitely determined to find out who killed Mara and bring him to justice. Ben, Luke's son, gets in on trying to take out Jacen after the Embrace of Pain incident, but ultimately, it's Jacen's own sister who strikes him down.
* In the ''Literature/SheriffJoannaBrady'' mysteries by Creator/JAJance, Joanna takes up her Andy's mission to become sheriff of Cochise County and clean out the corruption in the county after he is killed just before the election and then framed as a DirtyCop.
* The grade-school teacher protagonist of the Creator/StephenKing story "[[Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes Dolan's Cadilliac]]" obsessively plots to kill the eponymous mob boss after he has the teacher's wife killed to prevent her from testifying against him.
* ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo''; Charles I decides to prevent the English Civil War by rounding up Oliver Cromwell and his future revolutionaries and imprisoning/executing them. Thing is, at this point in history (1634) Cromwell was still a loyal servant of the crown and hadn't even considered rebelling against Charles, but when Charles kills his wife and son in the process of arresting him Cromwell decides to start planning that revolution far ahead of schedule.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' has AntiHero Daniel Shaw undergo a FaceHeelTurn into a Woobie AntiVillain after finding out that his beloved wife was killed by his current lover, Sarah. After learning this information he defects from the CIA to [[NebulousEvilOrganisation The Ring]] and devotes himself entirely to ensuring that Sarah suffers.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Catelyn Stark vows revenge after her husband's death at the Lannisters' hands: "We will kill them all." Unfortunately, that didn't happened due to [[WhamEpisode the Red Wedding]] [[spoiler:and since [[CameBackWrong her resurrected version]] from the books as the vengeful Lady Stoneheart is AdaptedOut, we will never get to see it fulfilled. Her daughter Arya avenges her family instead by assasinating all of House Frey (who murdered Cat, Robb and Talisa at the Red Wedding) and killing Littlefinger, the man who betrayed her father first and started this mess; the Lannisters end up doing a good job of destroying each other]].
** In the History and Lore vid for the Brotherhood Without Banners, Thoros of Myr describes the organization as this due to recruiting all men that lost everything after the [[WarIsHell War of the Five Kings]].
--->'''Thoros of Myr''': ''Our war wasn't over. The generals had gone home but the soldiers stayed. Either they had no homes to return to or they'd gotten a taste for other people's. The Brotherhood was the people's only defense. We became the brothers of murdered siblings, husbands of murdered wives and fathers of murdered children.''
* ''Series/HellOnWheels'' has:
** Bohannon, for the first season at least, who opens up the show with tracking down the Union soldiers who killed his wife and son
** Lily Bell as a Crusading Widow who following her husbands murder (right in front of her - she avoided the same fate by killing his murderer minutes after) makes it her mission to see that the railroad he died making plans for is completed.
* Series/{{Spartacus}} in the Starz series of the same name. So much so that he is offered the life of the wife responsible for his wife's slavery in order to stop his crusade and "balance the scales". He doesn't take it, because while he began his SlaveRevolt in his wife's name, he doesn't believe anyone should have to suffer in slavery and is now determined to free all of Rome's slaves (making him a comparatively more idealistic version of this trope).
* Sam Winchester's fiancee-to-be's murder in the pilot episode of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' makes him obsess over hunting her killer. Twenty-two years earlier, the boys' father, John Winchester became a widower when his wife died in the same way. And he spent the rest of his life hunting down her killer, including training his sons into the [[TykeBomb human weapons]] that make such fascinating television. He died first, but his spirit helped his eldest son off the bastard a season later.
* Wyatt Cain in ''Series/TinMan.'' All he wants once he's been freed is to kill Zero, avenge his family, and die in a blaze of glory. Fortunately for him, his former boss forces him into a promise to [[{{Protectorate}} guard DG]] "[[LastRequest at all costs]]."
* The ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Roadkill" features an unsub who targets people who drive red coupes, out of revenge for his wife's death. [[spoiler:The red coupe driver who caused the accident was ''him''. He was so twisted with guilt that it warped his memory.]]
* ''Series/TwentyFour'':
** Jack Bauer, who found his wife dead at the end of the first season, murdered by his mistress.
** For much darker examples, there's [[spoiler: Tony Almeida when he looks to avenge the murder of his wife and unborn son in season seven and Jack when he becomes one ''again'' in the final season after his current love interest is killed.]]
* Leo Dalton in ''Series/SilentWitness'', after a car crashed into a restaurant and killed his wife and daughter.
* Horatio Caine, from ''Series/CSIMiami'', who had his wife shot and dying in his arms.
* Two examples from ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'': Mac Taylor (who lost his wife on 9/11) and Don Flack (whose girlfriend was killed when a witness she was helping protect was kidnapped).
* Robbie Lewis in ''Series/{{Lewis}}'' was married in the predecessor series ''Series/{{Inspector Morse}}'', but in between the two series his wife was killed by a hit and run driver.
* Jack Halford in ''Series/NewTricks'' whose wife was killed in a hit and run prompting his retirement. When he comes out of his HeroicBSOD he uses his new job at UCOS to help him track down her killer.
* Adrian Series/{{Monk}}. His wife's murder is both the reason for the [[DefectiveDetective way he is]], and his motivation for his work. He finally solves her murder in the SeriesFinale.
* Homeland Security agent Mark Fallon, who appeared on two episodes of ''Series/{{Castle}}''. His wife was killed on 9/11.
* ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'':
** Queen Annis, who seeks revenge for the death of her husband [[spoiler:at King Arthur's hands]].
** Also Uther and his anti-magic crusade brought on by Ygraine's death.
* Noah Bennet's backstory on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' reveals that his first wife was killed in a botched home invasion by a special who had telekinetically flung her into a glass table. This sets him off on a quest to kill that special and others like him, which brought him on the radar of the Company. In the years since, he's cooled down a bit, but still harbors suspicious feelings about specials.
* William Boone in the first season of ''Series/EarthFinalConflict''. He figures out pretty quickly that the Taelons had his wife killed in order to "free" him to work for them (he previously refused because he wanted to spend more time with his wife). He seems to have settled down after Sandoval admits that he was the one who ordered her death to "spare" her. The second season opener reveals that Da'an was the one who ordered Sandoval to do that. In fact, Da'an never explicitly denied it to Boone, only telling him that he "did not wish her death", which isn't the same as ordering it.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
** Commander Benjamin Sisko's wife was killed by the Borg at Wolf 359, and he channeled his anger into designing a new breed of warship, the ''[[PintSizedPowerhouse Defiant]]''. Unfortunately, with no further contact with the Borg for the next few years, Starfleet shelved the ''Defiant''-class project, which sent Sisko into a bit of a tailspin until he was reassigned to command Deep Space 9 at the start of the series.
** {{Justified}} in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E01ImageInTheSand Image in the Sand]]". With Jadzia having been murdered in the previous season finale, Worf fears that she won't be allowed into Klingon Heaven unless he wins a great victory in her name.
* In the first episode of ''Series/{{Alias}}'', the death of Sydney Bristow's fiance initially just causes her to take a lot of time off work. Unfortunately, her shady employers eventually decide she's becoming a liability and attempt to have her killed. This prompts her father to save her from a ProfessionalKiller and explain that her employers [[spoiler:are actually the bad guys. She spends the next few seasons nursing a virulent loathing for Arvin Sloane, her boss, and entire seasons later, she makes it clear that she will never forgive him for having her fiance killed.]]
* Gibbs from ''Series/{{NCIS}}''. His first wife and daughter were murdered by a drug dealer, and he [[SympatheticMurderBackstory got his revenge]].
* Sam Hanna from ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' after his wife is kidnapped and suffocated. He also gets his revenge.
* Cole in the first episode of ''{{Series/Tracker}}''. The alien he's initially sent to find is the killer of his wife and daughter.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' often treats the Doctor's companions as his significant other (the occasional hint of romance does no harm either). Following the death of [[spoiler: Clara Oswald]], the Doctor enters into this mode to seek revenge of those ultimately responsible, threatening to become the ImplacableMan.
** Although it is not explicitly stated, the Doctor likely feels this way towards the Daleks too, given that it was probably the time war that cost him his children and the rest of his family. As if he didn't have enough reasons to hate those tin can murder machines...
* Michael Knight in what was originally supposed to be the series finale of ''Series/KnightRider''. Having just burned out at his job after the last case, he plans to quit the Foundation and is reunited with Stevie Mason, his fiance from his previous "life" as Michael Long. Just after Michael announces his retirement, they get married... only to have the bad guy chasing Michael kill her (while aiming for him) just minutes after they were wed. After that, the rest of the episode has Michael on a warpath to get his revenge.
* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'''s backstory includes a fiancée who was murdered. A friend later reveals that he promptly threw himself into his police work both to distract himself from his grief and to find her killer.
* Richard Kimble of ''Series/TheFugitive''.
** Kimble ''and'' Gerard in the 2000 remake. The latter has now been given a backstory of his first wife dying in a car accident. It soon becomes obvious that his lingering grief and guilt is the reason he's so hell bent on catching Kimble.
* Inspector Lewis Erskine, from ''Series/TheFBI''. He was targeted for an ambush that killed his wife; he periodically cites this as a motivation for his work.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Private Channel", Mr. Williams plans to blow up the plane because his wife and daughter were killed in a plane crash caused by the company's negligence.
* ''Series/StrongMedicine'''s Dylan West fell into such a HeroicBSoD after his fiancée's death that he nearly gave up his medical career. He snapped himself out of it and decided to honor her by switching to her specialty—women's health—and throwing himself into it.
* ''Series/TheMentalist'' Patrick Jane was a phony psychic celebrity who consulted with the police on the serial killer Red John because it was good publicity. He gave a very insulting profile on live national TV; when he got home he found that Red John had taken offense and murdered his wife and young daughter. Most of the series involves Jane's hunt for Red John, using the skills at cold reading and psychology that had made him such a good fake psychic. He stated openly that his intent was to catch Red John himself, rather than arrest him, and [[AntiHero do to him what]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil he did to Jane's wife and daughter]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Magnus of ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'', who's vowed vengeance on [[spoiler: Governor Kalen, who killed his wife and father-in-law, and destroyed his town.]] Interestingly, [[spoiler: he never completes his vengeance arc, as he forgets the memory of Governor Kalen in Wonderland. While Magnus begins the story as a more typical example of this arc, with a bit of a death wish, he learns to find happiness in his life, living as his late wife would have wanted him to.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}'': After the brutal assassination of her husband on their wedding day, Belladonna De'Escher left her family and took up work as a BountyHunter, searching for clues to the identity of those responsible for her beloved Tzakwon's death.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Senua of ''Videogame/HellbladeSenuasSacrifice'' is a rare female example. The game follows her journey ToHellAndBack to save the soul of her slain lover [[TheLostLenore Dillion]], as she cuts through anything between them. [[spoiler: As the game progresses, it explores the psychological and emotional problems that stem from refusing to let a loved one go.]]
* [[BadassPreacher Gabriel]] [[KnightInShiningArmor Belmont]] from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' fits this trope to a cut and dried tee, and a latent prospect of reviving his childhood sweetheart, Marie, by reassembling a DismantledMacGuffin is his original – and afterwards, only – motivation throughout the entirety of the story. [[spoiler: He {{jumps off the slippery slope}} [[LoveMakesYouEvil as a result]].]]
* [[ColdSniper Kivan]] from the first ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' is an impassive and ruthless archer who had launched a campaign against the local brigands after their leader, [[OurOgresAreHungrier Tazok]], murdered his wife, Deherianna. According to the man himself, his need for revenge is what is giving him the strength to go on.
* Kratos from ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' kills his own family and spends the rest of the series haunted by the memory and seeking revenge on the Gods for making him do so and for otherwise being colossal jerkasses.
* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' spends the first game on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the big conspiracy that killed his wife and newborn girl. It takes a while for him to get started (primarily due to spending most of the game trying to find out who murdered his partner and set him up to take the fall for it), but when he does...
* Carth Onasi in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic.'' His primary motive is killing his treasonous commanding officer who announced his defection to the Sith by bombing Carth's homeworld, and among the casualties...
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'':
** Thane's work as an assassin led to his wife being killed. He was pretty changed by it. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} as leaving on his RoaringRampageOfRevenge as opposed to being there for their son when he most needed it drove a massive wedge between them and became Thanes greatest regret.
** Notable that even if she ''wasn't'' romanced in the first game, Liara ''still'' has a subtle vibe of this. After Shepard's death, she handed his/her remains over to Cerberus in order to bring them back, then went and waged war for two years against The Shadow Broker for trying to sell Shepard's corpse to [[BigBad the Collectors.]] Keep in mind, [[TookALevelInBadass before this]], she was a shy and mild-mannered ''[[BadassBookworm archaeologist]]''.
* Boone from ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas.'' Interesting in that while he is motivated by his wife's death, it's not the strongest guiding force in his life or even the reason he feels that fate's only keeping him alive to toy with him.
* VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}} has several. Among the more notable:
** The main character, the Sole Survivor, witnesses his/her spouse killed right in front of them and their son kidnapped, but are trapped in a cryogenic pod and unable to stop it. Upon finally emerging, they vow to get their son back and avenge their spouse's death.
** Deacon, one of game's companions, works with the Railroad because [[spoiler: his late wife, Barbara, was a synth. She was killed by an anti-synth gang, the same gang that Deacon ran with in his youth; [[HeelRealization he realized that he had been horrifically bigoted all along once they actually killed one.]] His old gang eventually found him and killed Barbara for being a synth -- he proceeded to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge slaughter every single one of them.]] He seeks to atone for her death and his former bigotry by helping as many synths as he can.]]
* Varian Wrynn in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', though he's fortunate enough to keep his son as a {{Protectorate}} (if often enough a reluctant one). He still blames himself for not being able to save her, though a bit less so as of the novel ''Wolfheart'', and holds a very long and violent grudge against the Defias for their part in his wife's death. While, granted, he does tend to have [[DoomMagnet pretty terrible luck]] with loved ones in general, Tiffin's death much more than others really threw him into gritty AntiHero territory... at least once he finally snapped out of his depression from it.
** Mankrik is an Orc questgiver who went on the warpath after his wife was killed by quillboars, sending players on quests to massacre them en-masse.
* Cyan Garamonde in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' goes berserk when his wife and son are killed, followed by a long period of soul-agonizing CornerOfWoe. But he eventually gets better, regaining his sense of purpose and becoming a [[InformedAbility formidable]] warrior. [[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke Yes, there was shades of snark in that last part.]][[/note]] The game's story plays this straight, but in game battles he can seldom outperform most of his comrades in special skills, [[spoiler: except maybe as [[GoodBadBugs Psycho Cyan]].]]
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/Persona4''. [[PlayerCharacter Yu]]'s detective uncle Dojima obsessed for years over finding the person responsible for killing his wife in a hit-and-run accident to the point where he became a depressed workaholic and [[ParentalNeglect neglected his young daughter]], Nanako. His Social Link revolves around Yu helping him come to terms with her passing and let go of his need for revenge so he can focus on being a better father to Nanako. He does assert that he's going to continue his search for her killer, but this time because it's his job.
* The BigBad of Arc One in ''VideoGame/Wizard101'' is Malistaire, who used to be the professor of the Death school of magic before his wife Sylvia, who was the professor of the Life school, passed away from an incurable illness. He was selfless, highly skilled in his school of magic, and deeply admired across the Spiral, but he [[ExcessiveMourning went off the deep end soon after she died]] and went on a mission to bring her back by any means necessary, enacting a plot to steal a book of powerful magic in order to awaken the Dragon Titan, who has the power to resurrect the dead. In the process, he's left multiple worlds across the Spiral in violent chaos, which you'll now have to traverse and repair to eventually get to him and stop his plan, because the Dragon Titan is extremely dangerous and will quickly lay waste to the land again if awoken.
* [[LoveMakesYouCrazy James]] [[UnreliableNarrator Sunderland]] of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' is a particularly dark example; after his wife [[DelicateAndSickly Mary]] dies ([[spoiler: [[UnreliableNarrator supposedly]]]]) of terminal illness, James is driven deeply enough into desperation to [[HesJustHiding believe she's still alive]], and seeks her in the monster-infested hellhole that is Silent Hill. Of course, the intensity of his SurvivorGuilt makes more sense when the player realizes [[spoiler: he killed Mary himself]].
** It gets even darker. Though it varies depending on the player's actions, most {{Fanon}} agrees that this crusade ends in [[spoiler: James's suicide]].
* Fiora's death in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' is what inspires Shulk to want to hunt down Metal Face, and by extension, the Mechon. [[spoiler: She turns out to have been NotQuiteDead, though.]]
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Gothic}} Arcania]]'' starts off with the player character's love interest being killed at the end of the tutorial, when the troops of Rhobar III invade his home island. Her death becomes his motivation to travel to the main island of Southern Islands and seek revenge on Rhobar III.
* {{Justified}} with Ch'gren, the Klingon Defense Force player character's free engineering bridge officer, in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline''. His wife Doran was the first officer on your ship during the tutorial, and being {{backstab}}bed by Captain Jurlek when she tried to do a KlingonPromotion meant her soul went to Gre'thor (i.e. FireAndBrimstoneHell). He wants to win a great victory in her name so that she can enter Sto'vo'kor (Klingon Valhalla).
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** Possible deconstruction: [[spoiler: the Tharja from the Bad Future]] in ''VIdeoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', who never was the most stable person but went completely over the edge upon being widowed.
** It's revealed in the ''Revelation'' route of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' that [[spoiler: CoolOldGuy Gunter]]'s wife and child were murdered by Garon and his army, [[spoiler:along with his entire [[DoomedHometown hometown]].]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' and its remake ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEchoesShadowsOfValentia'', Valbar's entire family (parents, wife, child, younger siblings) were murdered by pirates. He, his best friend Leon and the hired sellsword Kamui can be recruited if they survive the battle they first appear in, and from then on he fights for Celica's cause.
* Just how upset does the [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins City Elf Warden]] get when she and her family and friends are kidnapped, raped and her betrothed murdered? [[http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/File:Tabris_Origin.png A picture says a thousand words.]]
* Talion from ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' saw his entire family [[spoiler: sacrificed in a blood magic ritual by Sauron's minions on the night the Dark Lord returned to Mordor. Saved by the intervention of an elven wraith, he intends to exact retribution on ALL the denizens of Mordor]].
* Ryudo from ''VideoGame/EternalTwilight'' was an imperial soldier until his empire kidnapped and killed his wife and child because of their anti-magi policies, leading him to defect and seek revenge on the empire. When an imperial officer mocks him for marrying a magi, Ryudo gets angry enough to relearn his [[SuperMode Instinct mode]].
* Invoked in ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'': [[spoiler:The plot of the game (and by extension, [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} the first game]]) is set in motion when Loptr disguises himself as Loki, murders Balder's lover Rosa, and sends him on a quest for revenge as part of a plan to obtain the Sovereign Power and the Eyes of the World.]]
* One of the Ambitions in ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' is Nemesis, which has the protagonist brought down into the Neath in order to avenge a fallen loved one. Two of the options for who this loved one was are a lover or a spouse.
* In ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost'' Grace doesn't [[DeathSeeker seek her own death anymore]] and now seek the death of the Syndicate organization for killing her husband. [[spoiler: [[BigBad The Master of the Syndicate]] is one exception due to Grace [[KnowWhenToFoldEm believing herself that she is not powerful enough]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Peepenstock from ''WebAnimation/OfWeaselsAndChickens''. It is revealed in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Fj753m-J0&index=5&list=PL4xqUjsrBMxWvBhJgnda3pA67h76Oi1uO Episode Three]] that [[spoiler:a weasel (Prima) killed his love interest, Willa.]] This fuels his previously inexplicable hatred towards Marcus the weasel throughout the musical.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/CiemWebcomicSeries'': Candi Levens in the Crusading Widow after Denny dies. (And [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend whenever Donte is threatened]].)
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Due to her husband's [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2016-07-13 death by werewolf]], [[spoiler: Pandora]] goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge resulting in [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2016-12-21 the eradication of werewolves worldwide]].
* ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'': Pauline becomes a barbarian after her husband and son were killed, partly to deal with her rage and pain of it all, and partly to seek out an [[DeathSeeker opponent greater than her]]. Joining Julie's group was the perfect way for her to do this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebOriginal/{{Serina}}'': The warmonger matriarch is left blinded when the grieving mate of one of the soldiers she sent into battle stalks her after she fled the angry mob and stabs her [[EyeScream in her good eye]] with a broken shaft from one of the gravedigger's spears.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''[[LetsPlay/LifeSMP 3rd Life SMP]]'': Scott was fairly neutral on the server, only tentatively allying with Grian and Scar out of necessity after his relations with Dogwarts soured. However, after Jimmy was KilledOffForReal in the Battle of the Red Desert on Day 7, Scott teamed up with the Red Desert faction and goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge to take out as many Dogwarts members as he could. [[spoiler:While this ultimately ends with Scott getting ultimately hunted down and killed on Day 8, his series' ending shows the two "Flower Husbands" being TogetherInDeath in a GhostReunionEnding.]]
* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': Orym was married to a fellow Air Ashari guard, Will, who was killed in an attack on the tribe and their leader. Six years later, he is on his current mission to seek revenge for his fallen husband.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SkyDancers'' gives us Queen Skyla, who takes up her husband's mantle after he is killed [[spoiler:but not really]] by his elder brother.
* While not exactly a widower (because his wife Eliza [[HumanPopsicle is in a stasis chamber]] until her [[SoulJar psychocrystal]] can be retrieved), Zachary Foxx in ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]'' has some warning flags of this trope. Rare in that he is a straight-up heroic example, but the topic of Eliza is still his BerserkButton.
* J'onn J'onzz in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' is a downplayed version. His planet is dead, he's frequently tormented with his dead wife and children, and he is a member of the Justice League. Now he may have been this on Mars (as he was a member of the Resistance) but when the series starts he's calmed down a bit to warn Earth/protect people in general.
* Dracula in ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'' is an villainous example. His wife Lisa is burned at the stake as an witch for merely helping people with medicine and incensed by her death and the townsfolk's ungratefulness, he declares an genocidal war against mankind, unleashing TheLegionsOfHell to destroy everything in its path.
* The short film ''WesternAnimation/{{Fuelled}}'' centers on a widow trying to track down the robber that killed her husband, and nearly killed her as well. However, her car runs out of fuel before reaching its destination, and her resulting desperation causes tragedy.
* In the Season 5 finale of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', it is revealed that Rick spent most of his life trying (and eventually failing) to hunt down the Rick that killed his wife.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitaly_Kaloyev Vitaly Kaloyev]], a Russian architect who lost his wife and children in a flight accident in 2002. The accident was caused by a flight controller error, and the flight controller (a Danish man named Peter Nielsen) had been working for 16 hours continuously due to being an outsourced employee. Kaloyev tracked Nielsen to his house and stabbed him to death in front of his wife and children in 2004.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier_Gerlofs_Donia Piers Gerlofs Donia]] was a Frisian rebel, pirate and a [[TheBigGuy massive giant of a man]] whose [[DoomedHometown village was plundered]] by Habsburg-working mercenaries that also killed his kids and raped and murdered his wife. Not content with killing those responsible, he vowed to be a thorn on the Habsburgs' side, sinking 138 ships, burning two castles and destroying an army of 300 men. Despite these victories, he was unable to defeat a nation and retired disillusioned.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_I_of_Portugal Peter I of Portugal]] was deeply in love with his wife's lady-in-waiting, noblewoman [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In%C3%AAs_de_Castro Inês de Castro]], while he was still crown prince. They're known as the Romeo and Juliet of Portugal, for good reason. Their love affair didn't sit well in the court -- especially after his wife died and he tried to marry Ines and legitimize their kids -- and resulted in her getting assassinated by other scheming nobles in [[HarmfulToMinors front of their children no less]]. Enraged, Peter found those responsible after ascending to the throne and [[BeatStillMyHeart ripped out their hearts]], saying they had destroyed his so they didn't deserve to have any. As if that wasn't enough, legends say that [[MummiesAtTheDinnerTable he exhumed her body and had her dressed as a queen]] and [[HumiliationConga forced the nobles to kiss her hand]]. It's because of these deeds that he is known as "Peter the Cruel". The coronation story may be apocryphal, but what we do know is that Peter claimed they had been secretly married[[note]]there's no documented evidence proving it[[/note]], officially making her queen. He then had her body taken from its burial place in Coimbra and enshrined in the Royal Monastery in a beautifully carved tomb, not next to his own but ''opposite'' -- facing each other across the gallery. This way, at the Resurrection, when everyone gets re-bodied, the first thing Pedro and Ines will see is each other. Awww.
[[/folder]]
----

* [[LoveMakesYouCrazy James]] [[UnreliableNarrator Sunderland]] of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' is a particularly dark example; after his wife [[IllGirl Mary]] dies ([[spoiler: [[UnreliableNarrator supposedly]]]]) of terminal illness, James is driven deeply enough into desperation to [[HesJustHiding believe she's still alive]], and seeks her in the monster-infested hellhole that is Silent Hill. Of course, the intensity of his SurvivorGuilt makes more sense when the player realizes [[spoiler: he killed Mary himself]].

* ''[[LetsPlay/LifeSMP 3rd Life SMP]]'': Scott was fairly neutral on the server, only tentatively allying with Grian and Scar out of necessity after his relations with Dogwarts soured. However, after Jimmy was KilledOffForReal in the Battle of the Red Desert on Day 7, Scott teamed up with the Red Desert faction and goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge to take out as many Dogwarts members as he could. [[spoiler:While this ultimately ends with Scott getting ultimately hunted down and killed on Day 8, his series ending shows the two "Flower Husbands" being TogetherInDeath.]]